The initiative aims to eradicate 25,000 hectares of coca bushes within 140 days while maintaining military operations against rebel groups in the northeast that profit from the drug trade.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro unveiled a plan on Monday to cut down on coca cultivation in a northeastern region destabilised by rebel attacks, by compensating farmers as they transition to lawful crops.
During a cabinet meeting, Petro stated that his administration aims to eliminate 25,000 hectares of coca in the Catatumbo region within 140 days as part of a broader initiative to mitigate violence and undermine rebel groups that benefit from the cocaine trade.
The region, home to around 55,000 hectares of coca plantations, is one of Colombia’s principal cocaine-producing areas.
Petro asserted that farmers in Catatumbo would voluntarily eradicate their coca crops and receive financial support from the government throughout the transition to legitimate agricultural produce.
He also noted that the Colombian armed forces would persist in operations against rebel factions in the area, while the government plans to enhance road infrastructure to facilitate market access for legal crops.
“Peace in Colombia depends on the voluntary decision of farmers who grow coca to eradicate their crops,” Petro stated during the meeting.
In January, over 36,000 individuals were displaced from their homes in Catatumbo, a mountainous region of approximately 400,000 residents that borders Venezuela.
Rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN) orchestrated coordinated assaults against civilians they accused of collaborating with a rival faction known as the FARC-EMC.
Roughly 80 people lost their lives in the attacks, causing the Colombian government to suspend peace negotiations with the ELN and impose a 90-day emergency decree, granting it temporary authority to restrict certain civil liberties in the region without requiring congressional approval.
Petro has accused the rebels of attempting to seize control of the area so they could dominate its coca production and drug-trafficking corridors.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, cocaine production in Colombia has been on the rise since 2013.
A report published in October indicated that coca bush cultivation increased by 10% in 2023, while potential cocaine production surged by 53% compared to the previous year.
A 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the FARC, the country’s biggest rebel group, was intended to restrict coca cultivation in rural communities.
However, in some remote areas, smaller armed groups have moved in to fill the power void left by the FARC, actively fuelling the profitable cocaine trade.
